


There's a First Time for Everything

by sassynymphet



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Ilima hangs with the crew, M/M, Mild Language, not explicit but it gets pretty heated lol, teens making out (just in case that bothers u;;;)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 04:56:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10210073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sassynymphet/pseuds/sassynymphet
Summary: Hau has some conflicting feelings over his lack of knowledge and experience compared to his friends. A certain boy he adores helps him realize there's nothing wrong with not knowing it all.





	

It was a beautiful evening on Melemele Island. The sun was preparing to set over the rolling forest hills and the reflection of the orange-dyed sky lingered in the ocean's waves.

Moon, Hau, and Ilima had been relaxing by the shore in the soft grass, admiring the view.

"Another great summer." Hau's voice was smooth and kind at thirteen.

Ilima smiled softly. "It really was. I hate to see it end so soon,"

"I'm getting depressed just thinking about it," Moon sighed.

"Look on the bright side! We've still got a couple days left! We should make the most of it." Hau said, optimistic as usual.

They all nodded in agreement to the notion.

The three friends had been spending a lot more time together since Moon became Champion and Lillie left for Kanto, and even now in their early stages of teenhood, they hadn't let time get the better of them. Moon was still goofy, prideful, and perverted, Lillie was still her polite and gentle self, (though notably more outspoken and confident since the events of the summer), Ilima continued his relaxed and good-natured attitude. Hau, of course, was still the malasada-loving, cheerful kid he had always been. Nothing drastic had changed, apart from the growth spurts that Hau and Ilima and both endured, now both almost comically taller than Moon who'd yet to have her magic moment. The young trainers (excluding Lillie, though she'd become a lot more comfortable with the idea of battles in general) were all fond of summer and the adventures the season seemed to bring, and this one had provided some of the most incredible they'd ever had.

Moon swooned in the breeze, a sly grin on her face that her friends had come to notice usually meant she was up to something. Hau and Ilima noted her abnormally high spirits.

"Gee Moon, you sure are happy tonight! What's got you so starry eyed?" Hau leaned in curiously.

Moon twiddled her thumbs. "What are you even talking about?"

Ilima chuckled. "Hau's right, something's up with you tonight!"

The teen Champion rocked back and forth for a second, watching a nearby Yungoos skitter through the tall grass. She scooted towards it, pretending to be distracted. "…It's nothing really."

Hau and Ilima glanced at each other and then looked back at their friend. "Tell us!" Ilima pleaded. "We can keep a secret, right Hau?" he nodded.

Moon was starting to turn red now. She grinned, turned away from her friend's prying gazes, but didn't want to leave them hanging any longer. She gave in, dying to get it off her chest anyways. "Well…..Lillie and I…..we…..we…."

Ilima and Hau leaned in closer.

Moon giggled at the two expectant faces staring at her, unable to help it when they looked so hilariously interested. Finally, she blurted out, "We totally got to 2nd base yesterday!"

Hau grinned. "That's so cool!"

Ilima began to snicker to himself. "How did you manage to do that while she's in Kanto?"

Moon was blushing the darkest shade of red possible; she was half hoping her friends would have acted more embarrassed so she could play it off like she wasn't. "Eh heh…well, we kind of played a little show-and-tell on webcam, if you know what I mean!" she winked. "But ... I think we're gonna take things slower from now on though. What do you guys think?"

Ilima nodded. "I think you should. After all, it's fun to have some surprises to look forward to, right?"

Hau jumped in happily. "I guess that makes sense! If you keep practicing, maybe you'll make it to home base next time!"

Both Ilima and Moon stared at the boy in shock.

Hau blinked casually. "What?"

Moon gave him a confused look. "…Um, Hau, the whole point of taking it slow is to wait to get to home base!"

Hau sat and thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "I dunno, Moon. I thought the whole point of baseball was to get to home base!"

"...."

The wind zipped past them and silence followed.

Finally, Moon and Ilima fell over laughing.

Hau scratched the back of his head in confusion. "What's so funny, guys?"

Moon managed to squeeze out some words from his laughter. "…That's-…. not exactly-…what we were talking about."

The thirteen-year-old pressed his brows together, confused and, frankly, feeling kind of hurt that he was so left out of the joke. "….Then what was it you meant?"

His two friends sat up and held onto their sides. "…Never mind, buddy. You'll figure it out one day."

It wasn't long before Hau took the hint that he was sorely mistaken about something they'd been referring to, and felt incredibly embarrassed. How many times did this need to happen on a daily basis? Too many times, in Hau's case.

The three friends were quiet again for awhile as they stared up at the clouds.

The awkwardness of the situation was beginning to grow more apparent though, and Hau thought hard for an excuse to leave. After some deliberated reflection, he remembered a previous engagement that he could escape to. He stood up out of the grass and brushed off his board shorts.

Moon and Ilima watched him. "Where are you off to?" the trial captian asked.

Hau shrugged. "I dunno, the Malasada Shop."

Moon crossed her arms. "Mmhm….and what flavor are they serving tonight? Could it be bitter, or sour? They both sound like him to me."

Hau stopped, confused again. "..W-what do you mean?"

Moon peeked over at Ilima, who just smirked. The Champion then wagged her hand in the air. "Fine, go. Don't keep the emo princess waiting."

Hau tried to muster an honest smile, feeling ignorant to the meaning of the conversation again. "I'll be right back! I promise, guys!"

"It's quite alright... You can meet us again later, we're not going anywhere." Ilima said. He'd learned how to deal with Hau's strange affection for a certain irritable Gladion by now, although secretly still frowned on the crush. It wasn't the fact that they were both boys, but rather the fact that the pink-haired teen simply regarded Gladion as a rude and callous person who seemed to have a lot of dirty laundry following him around.

It was both his mom and his friends who'd caused the most trouble Alola had ever been in and even put his friends in danger. Moon and Hau, however, had gotten the chance to get to know the kinder side of Gladion and so they tried their best to convince Ilima and other people he wasn't all bad. It wasn't like Gladion would show it, though - he didn't care about correcting his image.

Nevertheless, Hau continued to stay faithful to the tender crush he harbored in hopes that Gladion might give him a chance one day, and that was possibly the beauty behind it all.

Moon watched as her happy-go-lucky best friend zipped away artlessly. She sighed and rested her face in her hands. "I will never understand him."

Ilima waved to Hau. "L'amour vous rend stupide."

Hau strolled the island in search of the blond boy, happy to flee the pressure of his friend's puzzling inside discussions. It bothered him, not understanding what they meant, and it had become more and more frequent as time went by. Was there some sort of secret he was totally missing out on?

Some young trainers ran by in a group, calling out happily, "Hi Hau!"

The boy smiled and leaned down to their eye level. "Hey guys, seen Gladion around?"

A preschool-aged girl wearing a sundress piped up. "Nuh uh."

"You mean 'Mr. Always Grumpy'?" A slightly older boy blurted out.

Hau laughed. "That's true, but you know, Mr. Always Grumpy has a good side to him too."

Some of the kids glanced at each other warily, wondering if Hau was kidding.

Hau smirked, "And maybe if you guys wouldn't torture him so much, he wouldn't be so cranky."

They all giggled to themselves, then nodded in unison.

Hau beamed. He was popular amongst the younger trainers and took pride in being a big-brother figure to them. Hau had nearly reached the age where he could volunteer to train for a position as a trial captain the following summer, and his knack for the job was apparent.

Returning to the matter at hand, Hau began skewering the island again for Gladion. Hau knew that he wouldn't actually be at the malasada shop where he'd originally planned on going and hanging out at - he really just wanted to hang out with Gladion, so he decided to ditch his usual date with his favorite pastry. Tirelessly, Hau searched for his crush in places he thought he might be. He knew Gladion, he thought, and kept in mind that the boy liked to hide out in weird places from time to time, because he was antisocial and a shut-in, or maybe because he was just secretly shy. Hau didn't know that part.

The young islander smiled at the evening air as he made his way to the end of Hau'oli City and stood at the edge of the route it lead to. The scent of palm and ocean coated the atmosphere.

He pushed some bushes out of his path and walked into a small clearing where light beamed in daintily from the treetops above.

Sitting at the foot of a tree, scraping a piece of wood with a pocketknife, was a serene-looking Gladion. His blonde bangs fell over his eyes and framed his youthful features. His green eyes focused loosely on the wood he was carving at diligently.

Hau admired the image for a moment, then put on a sly face as he tiptoed through the underbrush and made his way around to the other side of the trunk, where Gladion couldn't see him.

The playful boy tried not to laugh as he backed up against the tree trunk and slunk gingerly around to the other side.

Gladion was still carving at the piece of wood obliviously.

Hau smirked and finally leaped forward, expecting to tackle the blonde by surprise. But just as he screamed out, "ALOLA!," Gladion grabbed the boy's shoulders and rolled through the leaves with him, finally pinning Hau down to the ground by his wrists. He sat on top of him with a clever look on his face. "Thought you could scare me."

Hau squirmed around underneath him. "How did you know I was there?"

Gladion rolled his eyes. "You suck at sneaking. Even worse than you do at Pokemon battling." He rolled off the younger boy reluctantly.

Hau propped himself up on his elbows and smiled over at the blonde.

Gladion sat uneasy in the brush.

After a moment, Hau sat up. "Are you ready to see something cool?"

Gladion blinked. "To see what…?"

"Come with me!" Hau hopped up to his feet and grabbed onto Gladion's hand, pulling him up. He then began running through the trees with the limp teen dangling behind.

"Hey! What the hell are you doing? Let go of me!" Gladion barked.

Hau was smiling brightly. "I wanna show you something!"

Gladion tried to add more weight to his body so Hau would let go of him, or at least slow down. But his efforts were useless.

They passed through thickets and bushes, down a few miscellaneous trails, until finally they reached a very tall, winding palm, stretching high against the clouds.

Gladion stared up at it blankly. "You wanted to show me a tree?"

Hau laughed, "No, you have to look closer! Follow me!"

The fifteen-year-old lugged a sigh and followed Hau's orders; something he normally avoided.

Hau led him up to the foot of the tree, then brushed away some overgrown vines.

Gladion was surprised when he saw a ladder nailed into the trunk, leading up into the branches overhead.

Hau held onto the unsteady steps and began climbing.

Gladion reached up and grabbed the back of Hau's shirt, "There's no way in hell I'm going up there. I'd rather not get mangled by a 50 foot fall. Not right now, at least."

Hau reached down and tugged his shirt away from Gladion's hand gently. "Aw, don't worry! There's nothing to be scared of! It's fine, trust me!"

"I'm not scared." The blonde grumbled to himself as he unwillingly climbed after the more agile teen.

Forgetting how good of a climber he was, Hau got carried away and made it to the very top in record time, making it impossible for Gladion to keep up. "Would you slow down!? Tapu fucking Koko!"

Hau waited at the top of the ladder for the lanky boy still climbing, until finally they both clutched the top step side by side.

Gladion felt queasy from the high altitude and tried not to look down. "Is this it? We're just gonna cling for our lives up here for awhile?"

Hau smiled and shook his head, then reached up with one hand and parted back some tree branches, revealing a wooden door. Hau pushed up on it delicately and it opened in response.

He then climbed inside a wooden entryway and reached down to grab onto Gladion's hands, helping him up as well.

Once they were both safely inside, Gladion gazed around them. It was a rickety old tree house, years and years older than either of them. He blurted out the first thing that came to his mind. "What a dump."

Naturally, Hau didn't hear this negative reaction. He was beaming happily. "Isn't it great up here?"

A small window stood tranquilly on the far wall across the room. Gladion curiously got to his feet and peered outside, staring in amazement at the beautiful view of Melemele Sea and the far off mountains bordering the horizon. The sun had barely gone down, and orange and pink clouds blanketed the skyline.

Hau stood beside Gladion and rested his arms on the windowsill, marveling at the sight. "You like it?"

The blonde grinned slightly. "Where the hell did this come from? All these years I never knew it was up here."

"I found it a few years ago. My Gramps and I were taking a hike and I got lost. I saw the ladder, so I climbed up and found the treehouse! I never told anyone about it…. I know it's selfish, but I kind of wanted it to be just for me and a few people!"

Gladion gazed over at Hau and then laid his own arms down on the windowsill. "It's an old run down shack in a tree, not a top-secret clubhouse, Hau…"

The younger shrugged. "Same thing to me."

Gladion rolled his eyes and turned around, slidding down to the floor, resting his back up against the wall below the window. Hau still gazed out at the ripe sky.

Gladion studied the intricate woodwork that went into building the tree house. He imagined that years ago, a couple might have been up there where they were, admiring the sunset and spending precious time together. He blushed at the thought and began to wonder if Hau even had any inkling of a clue about relationships or love or sex.

He glanced up at the cheerful boy with a curious expression.

Of course he didn't. This was Hau! Young, full of life, innocent Hau! He thought all even married couples did went as far as a little peck on the cheek and a big Bewear hug. Not that Gladion didn't desire these gestures from someone, but at his age he was really more interested in the "other" things. The thoughts of which Gladion had pondered for months, but never let anyone know about it. He was an elusive daydreamer and his imagination sometimes got the better of him.

But would Hau ever know about all these things? Was it even possible for a mind as innocent as his to comprehend? Did it even matter? So much in their lives were changing. He came to the conclusion that growing up initially sucked.

Before Gladion could deliberate these topics further, Hau broke the silence. "Hey Gladion? …What're you thinking about?"

Gladion darted his eyes across the treehouse. "N-nothing…just thinking about what I would say in my will if this abomination of god decided to collapse on us."

Hau could tell that something else was on Gladion's mind. "It's nice up here though."

Gladion rested his chin on his knees., unresponsive.

The room fell silent again.

They could hear each other breathing and the birds flitter around in the branches outside.

Hau couldn't help but return to his worrisome thoughts about Moon and Ilima's strange drabble about "bases", and all the other times something similar had occurred where he had had no clue what they were talking about. It developed confusions he had never before dealt with.

He peeked down at Gladion and watched his face sink further into his knees.

Hau swallowed hard and felt his nerves rising. Should he even mention anything to Gladion about his worries? Somehow the thought was frightening to him.

The two of them stayed locked in their own minds for an unrecalled amount of time which drolled by like years.

The daylight outside was diminishing fast.

Finally, Hau spoke, but this time with hesitation in his voice. "Gladion… can I ask you something?"

The blonde peered up at him. "…Yeah, shoot."

"You won't laugh?" Hau was somber.

Gladion held back a small chuckle. Normally, it was impossible for Hau to sound serious. "I'm not promising."

The boy bit at his bottom lip for awhile, deliberating whether or not to continue. Then, hanging out the window, he finally stuttered a reply. "I-I've just been thinking a lot lately… and….I'm curious to know…How you-…I mean people-….um…."

Gladion rose his eyes in interest.

Hau was having trouble with his words. "…Uh…..Well, Moon….and-….They….told me-…..a thing-and….."

Gladion grew impatient. " _Spit it out,_ would you!?"

Hau's cheeks were bright red. He blurted it out quickly to ease the awkwardness. "I feel so stupid, because everyone's always talking about how far they've gone with their girlfriends or boyfriends and what bases they're at, something about baseball! And I have no idea what they're even talking about, and I always say something dumb, and, and…. Is that bad?"

The question hit Gladion like a brick. Could Madame Hau read minds? Or was the timing absolutely candid? He suddenly felt a little unsure how to respond, but having Hau console in him with the very same issue he had just been pondering moments before made him feel superior. This gave him a chance to see what he could get out of the other boy, so he tossed around some possible explanations.

Hau glanced over at Gladion a few times, waiting for a response.

Gladion finally spoke. "Well….." He found a small crack in the wooden floor to stare at while he talked. "I-it's not necessarily bad….it's just….When two people really like each other…they uh… I guess they show their love in more advanced ways."

Hau interrupted quickly. "Like kissing?"

Gladion swallowed hard. "Y-yeah. There's kissing…and then there's…more intense kissing. And then…." His voice got caught in this throat. This was harder than he thought it would be… How could he possibly explain these things to innocent Hau? It was like telling a child about how every year at Christmas their parents pretend to be Santa Claus and leave presents for them under the tree signed "Love Santa" to make it look like he had actually been there! There was no easy way to do it!

Hau seemed interested in Gladion's first clarification. "Intense kissing?"

Gladion peeked up at the boy's curious face. "Yeah." He wondered if "intense" was the right word to use.

Hau had fascination in his eyes. "Like how?"

Gladion sighed nervously. "….…..Um…" Gladion wasn't sure what to say about it. He didn't know if Hau had ever kissed anyone before, and he didn't want to explain about people putting their tongues in each other's mouths. Too awkward. "….It's hard to explain.."

"…Ok, then what else was there besides kissing? If two people like each other a lot….?" Hau kept pressing the issue further.

Gladion rubbed his hands together, feeling the cold evening air creep up on him. "….There's….Well, there's….." He fought with his mind. "W-when two people….really like each other… they do ... different stuff ... together…"

Hau blinked. "What kind of stuff do they do?"

Gladion felt his cheeks about to burn off. This was far enough! He couldn't do it! He just couldn't bring himself to taint the innocent teen. He liked him the way he was. He hadn't planned on corrupting Hau's mind - he had definitely felt the sexual tension in the air, and was fine with acting on it if Hau was, but it appeared Hau didn't even know what sex was, so fooling around was out of the question.

Hau sighed heavily, noticing Gladion's tension. He returned to the window. "….It's ok….never mind."

Gladion ran a hand through his bangs, suddenly feeling worse than before. That naseous feeling he got when he was nervous had settled into his stomach and he wanted to be rid of it. "….Sorry….I..-"

"It's just that I feel so dumb not knowing. ….like everyone has some sort of advantage over me…" Hau explained.

"…N-no, it's…-" Gladion lowered his head. He could tell that this was really bothering Hau, which was unusual because most things didn't.

Hau slid down the wall and sat next to him on the floor of the treehouse. "Is it bad though, Gladion? Is it bad not knowing?"

Gladion thought about this; not only for an answer for Hau, but also for himself. They were only thirteen and fifteen, good times where they should at least be knowledgeable about these subjects. But could it actually be referred to as a "bad" thing to not know as much as everyone else? What was "knowing" anyway? And if knowing was so important, how was thirteen-year-old Hau so clueless about the whole matter when, back at ten years old, Gladion had known every detail?

Well, the only reason he knew so much was because of Guzma and the rest of Team Skull. He might as well write a book about all the things he'd learned from them…or had overheard in any case. He cringed at the thought.

But still, was it bad not knowing? The two of them were still alive, weren't they? And they were still together, weren't they? Was knowing really as important as it was made out to be?

The answer was obvious. After a moment, Gladion finally shook his head. "….No, it's not bad."

"But I feel like a loser!"

Gladion retorted, "A loser? Since when?"

Hau kept his eyes lowered.

Gladion was surprised. He felt like he and Hau actually had something in common for once. He thought about what he would have wanted someone to say to him. "You're not a loser."

"But I feel like one!" Hau was adamant. He had a tendency to get like this when he was upset, unwilling to drop the subject until he felt it was resolved.

Gladion tried to think of something to say. "Would you settle down? I think you'll just "know" when you know! Til then, you're fine."

Hau leaned closer. "But how will I _know_ when I know?"

Gladion tried to stay calm. "You just will!"

"But when?" The boy had pleading eyes.

"How should I know?!"

Hau pressed on. "You mean it hasn't happened to you yet?"

Gladion was about to rip his hair out. "No, it hasn't! I think I would KNOW if it had!"

"W-Well what if it happened…. now?" Hau exclaimed.

Gladion froze and gave him a stunned look.

The younger slammed his mouth shut, realizing what he had just asked.

Gladion looked away from him quickly to avoid the discomfort of the situation.

The dimly lit atmosphere of the tree house suddenly changed.

Hau searched his mind in a panic. "I-I mean…hypothetically speaking…"

It took awhile for the older blonde to regain some composure, then he gritted his teeth in frustration and impatience. "GAHH! You are the most annoying person I've ever known!" Gladion rose to his feet in the cramped room. "Get up!"

Hau blinked. "..Wha-?"

Gladion was fed up with the younger's persistent whining. He had already come to the conclusion that knowing wasn't important, but shutting Hau up was.

Gladion hastily offered a hand down to the boy. "Did you hear me? I said get _up!_ " He grabbed Hau's hand and yanked him to his feet. He swallowed hard, pushing Hau up against the wall of the treehouse, looking at him annoyedly before grabbing his wrists. "You start like this," he said lowly, and positioned Hau's hands on his waist.

Hau was turning red, eyes widened in shock. "..Start what?" He tightened his grip around Gladion.

The older ignored him, not wanting to explain, just to _do_. He lifted his gaze to meet Hau's eyes, whom were waiting for more directions nervously.

He continued. "Get closer."

Hau pulled their bodies together firmly.

"And….n-now you just kiss me." Gladion instructed, practically tingling all over with anticipation.

Hau had a confused look on his face for a second, then stood on his toes and gave Gladion a big smack-like kiss on his forehead. "There!"

Gladion tried to keep his endurance. "No, stupid. I mean really kiss me."

Hau looked confused. "But I'm pretty sure I just did…."

Gladion was turning red. "No! Augh, do I have to show you everything!? …Like this!" With his anger and anxiety as support, he leaned down intently and laid his lips over Hau's. He then opened his mouth and began kissing him avidly.

Hau's eyes widened. He was shocked at first, and very much confused, but gradually he found a tranquil rhythm to this and progressed, slowly leaning forward more and closing his eyes. He managed to work with Gladion's lips after awhile, and they began to lose balance as they made out in the dimly lit tree house.

After some elongated time passed, Gladion pulled his lips apart from Hau's and wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his hoodie. He stared down at Hau, who was still trying to recollect what had just happened.

Gladion darted his eyes around the room hesitantly, then backed out of Hau's arms. "….A-and….that's how it starts. I guess."

Hau looked dumbfounded.

Gladion squeezed his twitching hand in an effort to calm the annoying tic and then turned around to head for the door. "Geez, the things I have to put up with! It's freezing out here, and it's freaking late! Let's get outta here before we catch hypothermi-"

His sentence was cut off when Hau reached forward and grabbed his wrist.

Gladion looked back over his shoulder, still blushing.

The younger boy had an expression on his face that Gladion had never seen before. It was desperate and lustful. He gently led Gladion through the darkness and back to his side, holding his waist again.

Gladion gazed down at Hau, unsure what he was thinking behind those half-lidded hazel eyes.

Hau then reached over and placed his hands on Gladion's shoulders and stood on his toes again to match his height. Their eyes locked, then their noses brushed.

Gladion's heart started pounding. "What are you doi-"

Cautiously, Hau slanted in and began kissing Gladion in the same fashion they had just been enacting.

Gladion fell victim to Hau's sudden change in character. He was oddly more quiet and intense. The older nearly went faint at the way Hau was kissing and holding him.

Time ticked by slowly.

Gladion wrapped his arms around Hau's neck and kissed him hotly and wetly, their bodies slightly rocking together in the heat of the shared embrace. He moaned into the kiss when he felt Hau clutching at his sweatshirt, and pushing up as far as he could on his toes to get a better taste. He just held him there and they continued for as long as they could.

It must have been ages before either of them remembered to breathe. When the tree house began to creak under their feet, they finally pulled their lips apart.

Gladion's hands were tangled in Hau's hair and Hau was squeezing so hard on Gladion's shoulders that he left handprints when he released him.

They both felt numb. But it was the type of numbness that you feel after you first experience something new and, some would say, very good.

Hau somehow forgot about all his worries and pressured no more questions on Gladion, which was probably a good thing because Gladion was in a daze. In fact, nothing else was said at all as they left the tree house and climbed back down the ladder.

When Hau got to the ground, he reached up and let Gladion sink down into his arms again. He embraced him tightly on the dark forest floor.

Gladion snickered. "You don't still feel like a loser, do you?"

Hau looked serene as he shook his head.

The taller blonde smirked and then squirmed out of the younger's arms. "Get off of me, I can't breathe."

Hau released him sheepishly and rocked back and forth on his toes.

Gladion brushed himself off, trying to act annoyed, but with very bad skill.

They were both visibly happy, but refused to let the other know the extent of their high spirits.

A few moments passed before Hau reached his hand over and grabbed Gladion's. "Gosh, it's late! I hope no one's worried about us." They began walking back to the friendly town.

Gladion rolled his eyes. "Ah, who cares? Let them worry."

Hau glanced over at him and smiled.

Gladion sent him a seductive look, and then began to think out loud. "…You know… whether or not you are one Hau, I think you're just gonna have to accept the fact that you'll always be a loser in my book," he announced menacingly, hoping to probe at Hau's weak-state.

Silence followed, and Gladion grew impatient waiting for the younger to start whining. He glared down at him with exasperation.

Hau seemed unfazed, still smiling, "I don't mind. I wouldn't wanna be in anyone else's book."

Gladion puffed up his ego and looked the other direction. His hopes of continuing to jab at the previous heartaches Hau had been having with thinking he was a loser had abruptly ended.… All too soon, in Gladion's opinion.

Nonetheless, he squeezed Hau's hand tightly and grinned to himself as he faced the other direction. Deep down, he was reassured that both of them were finally at some sort of balance….

What had happened tonight was nothing in most cases, but to them it was a huge change. From what, neither of them knew. But it was no doubt a change for the better.

Gladion peeked back over at Hau, who was now watching the stars pass by through the tree tops above them.

The older stopped and looked up at the stars as well.

The wordless simplicity spoke for itself. It's nice not to face the world alone, Gladion thought to himself.


End file.
